During the past week I have had the chance to review more than 150 resumes from pilots. Some are great. Most are mediocre. The rest are awful. In the interest of humanity, I am going to post a few things that have occured to me during the past week.
Feel free to add or subtract to this post, or to tell me to eat a brick. This is just one person's opinion. But I have put some thought into this post.
1. Use a spell checker.
"I have lived in Saudy Arabia for the past 3 1/2 years. I enjoy Soudy Arabia but would like to come back to Canada"
"I am a perfessional pilot"
"I would very much lik the chanse to meet you in to discuss my application"
"I have a great attentions to detail"
And yeah, all of those are from people who use English as a first language.
68 of the 150 resumes I have seen have some sort of spelling error. Take the time to put some polish on it. If you aren't sure how some words are spelled, ask or check online. This is your initial contact with your future employer, so take the time to do it right.
Yeah I know flying isn't a spelling bee, but when you have dozens of resumes that would potentially qualify, you start looking at ways to thin the pile. Spelling is an easy one, so don't fall victim. If I used this as an example, I would manage to thin the pile from 150 to 80 right away, and still have 80 qualified people to choose from.
2. Have a table on the front page that lists your flight times. More people are doing this, but some people still bury their flight times in paragraphs of text, or halfway down the second page. Please don't use decimal places, like (Multi: 185.6) It's my pet peeve. Feel free to round up to the nearest hundred hours. Doesn't Multi: 200 sound better anyway? And by the time you get interviewed and/or hired, you'll prolly have the extra 14.4 hours. 120 if the 150 resumes had tables on the front. 3 had no mention of flight times at all on the entire resume.
3. Have a contact phone number that works, and that you check on a regular basis. You'd be surprised by how many people put old contact info on a resume, or don't update it when their residences change.
4. Please put your references on your resume. This has been debated before, but I am still of the opinion that I'd prefer to check someone's references in private rather than calling them up and giving them a false sense of hope. Hell, your references will probably call you anyway and let you know they have been contacted. Oh, and if you are going to use someone as a reference, make sure they know you are using them, and make sure they like you. Again, you'd be surprised. I was.
5. Ask yourself, I mean seriously ask yourself, "Is it worth it to put a picture of myself on my resume". Maybe it works for some people, but I have yet to see a decent pic of anyone on a resume. It just looks lonely or desperate or something. 6 of the 150 resumes had pictures of the pilots on them. One resume actually came with 5 pics of the pilot standing in front of various aircraft.
6. Keep it short, and keep the non-aviation-related stuff out. You may have been a king or a street sweeper, but neither of those jobs is relevant to aviation. You might like pottery, hunting and non-dairy creamers, but unfortunately it doesn't really matter. Of course if a job requires additional skills on top of being a pilot, please include them in your resume.
7. Don't offer to pay for training. It lowers the standard for us all. Especially don't offer in such a way as this "I will pay for my own type rating if I get a minimum 2-year contract with a minimum of 400 hours a year". Yeah, that's a quote from an actual recent resume. If we can afford the plane, we can afford to train crew. Of course if someone is already typed we take that into consideration, but there are other factors we use. I'm going to paraphrase a pal of mine now; "Hire someone 30% based on skill and 70% based on personality. You can change someone's skill set but you can't change their personality". I agree with that totally.
8. Keep your chin up. This is a very difficult industry and heartbreak and disappointment are par for the course. If you want it bad enough, and if you put work into it and are patient, you will get a good flying job. I was unemployed for nearly 7 months before I got my present job, and I sent out hundreds of resumes and attended 3 interviews before I got hired. On the interviews I was unsuccessful at, I took notes for myself on what I learned from it, and what not to repeat (or what to repeat for sure) on the next interview.
Suppose we had a single position to fill. That means that 149 people will be rejected through no fault of their own. That sucks, but that's life.
The hiring process is brutal, uncertain and somewhat random, so don't get down if you experience rejection again and again. Believe in yourself and that you have what it takes, and sooner or later someone else will see that too.
Resume tips, again
Moderators: sky's the limit, sepia, Sulako, lilfssister, North Shore, I WAS Birddog
You said:
"120 if the 150 resumes".....I see you lead by example.
You said to feel free, so I take that as my opportunity to rant.....
"No phone calls please".on the face of it, this seems to me to be pretty clear... but ....you may think you are getting a leg up, but.... you are one of many and it ties up people at the office. Most companies go to the trouble of speaking with you and then put your resume in the "g" file. After all, would you want to hire someone who either can not understand a simple instruction, or worse, who does understand it, but doesnt give a damn about your company if their instructions get in the way of a career goal. Lasty, we want to go through the resumes, and review the qualified ones in detail.
Before I get the calls of Grandpa Simpson here, I expect there are alot of employers out there who will agree with me.
"120 if the 150 resumes".....I see you lead by example.
You said to feel free, so I take that as my opportunity to rant.....
"No phone calls please".on the face of it, this seems to me to be pretty clear... but ....you may think you are getting a leg up, but.... you are one of many and it ties up people at the office. Most companies go to the trouble of speaking with you and then put your resume in the "g" file. After all, would you want to hire someone who either can not understand a simple instruction, or worse, who does understand it, but doesnt give a damn about your company if their instructions get in the way of a career goal. Lasty, we want to go through the resumes, and review the qualified ones in detail.
Before I get the calls of Grandpa Simpson here, I expect there are alot of employers out there who will agree with me.
Well said Sulako. So much can be sifted out of a resume by reading between the lines. Little tidbits of info that are consistant and usually true. One other bit of info, spell the names of the people that you will be dealing with correctlyand find out how they are pronounced. This can usually be found on the company web and if not a phone call certainly is in order. Oh, and if you are determined to send a picture............take off your Ray Bans.
A good post Sulako. Never hurts to have one of these every once in a while.
But for the record yeah, my resume gets updated from my logbook and all hours are rounded down to the nearest 10.
My pet peeve is people with pet peeves. Keep it to yourself. So what if someone has 185.6 or 185 or 186? How does it affect the 30% skill or 70% personality? Aren't you letting your personality get in the way of what your company is paying you to do?Please don't use decimal places, like (Multi: 185.6) It's my pet peeve.
But for the record yeah, my resume gets updated from my logbook and all hours are rounded down to the nearest 10.
My resume has numbers for 11 categories, not to mention A/C types that are numbers. Multiply that by 150 and you can see why Sully wants numbers with two zeros behind. If I told you I had 156.8 hours of something or 200 hours, the difference is not material, and you can say in your table, if it isn't obvious, that all numbers are rounded.
Good post, Sully.
Some additions: make your resume stand out - tables, bullets and one page for the meat. In fact, if you can't get it onto one page, use an executive summary in your cover letter so they don't even have to read unless it knocks 'em out, and if it is longer than one page, it should!
Some companies want to see ALL of your work record, that is, no gaps. If you were laid off for 6 months, say so. If there is no mention of the 6 months, they think the worst - you worked for someone and were fired and don't want to talk about it.
Good post, Sully.
Some additions: make your resume stand out - tables, bullets and one page for the meat. In fact, if you can't get it onto one page, use an executive summary in your cover letter so they don't even have to read unless it knocks 'em out, and if it is longer than one page, it should!
Some companies want to see ALL of your work record, that is, no gaps. If you were laid off for 6 months, say so. If there is no mention of the 6 months, they think the worst - you worked for someone and were fired and don't want to talk about it.
"What's it doing now?"
"Fly low and slow and throttle back in the turns."
"Fly low and slow and throttle back in the turns."
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Hotel Tango
- Rank 4
- Posts: 241
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:49 pm
Thanks! It's nice to hear what's expected from the ppl who actually make the decisions.
I put a lot of attention to my resume and I've been told that it stood out and was impressive (even if the hour totals weren't) from potential employers, so make the effort! It's worth it.
As for the phone calls, obviously don't if they say not too. But I've heard from people afterwards that the reason the CFI wanted to hire me was because I was one of the few that actually took the time to follow up on the resume and cover letter I had sent previously.
Thanks for the tips Sulako. I think for many of us, we should have a spell checker in here! Reading some posts are painful!
I put a lot of attention to my resume and I've been told that it stood out and was impressive (even if the hour totals weren't) from potential employers, so make the effort! It's worth it.
As for the phone calls, obviously don't if they say not too. But I've heard from people afterwards that the reason the CFI wanted to hire me was because I was one of the few that actually took the time to follow up on the resume and cover letter I had sent previously.
Thanks for the tips Sulako. I think for many of us, we should have a spell checker in here! Reading some posts are painful!
Re: Resume tips, again
Make up your mind...Sulako wrote:
6. Keep it short, and keep the non-aviation-related stuff out. You may have been a king or a street sweeper, but neither of those jobs is relevant to aviation.
Of course if a job requires additional skills on top of being a pilot, please include them in your resume..
*runs back to add paper boy at 12 and snow/leaves tosser at 14*xsbank wrote: Some companies want to see ALL of your work record, that is, no gaps. If you were laid off for 6 months, say so. If there is no mention of the 6 months, they think the worst - you worked for someone and were fired and don't want to talk about it.
As always, that was a great post, Sulako.
In regards to the whole 'rounding up' thing, I tend to disagree. If you apply at a place like Cathay Pacific, you should never, ever round up. The reason for that is it becomes grounds for dismissal later on down the road, if they decide they want to get rid of you. Even rounding up half an hour is looked upon as a lie. I'm in agreeance with the fella that rounds all his numbers down to the nearest 10. Perhaps its wrong, but I've gotten to just rounding down to the nearest one. You wanna know how much time I have? THATS how much time I have. Straight up. But my ideologies in this regard change depending on who I'm giving the rezzy to. Oh, ya. I always, always put my resume on that shiny cloud paper
That's a must!!! Joking, of course.
Shankdown
In regards to the whole 'rounding up' thing, I tend to disagree. If you apply at a place like Cathay Pacific, you should never, ever round up. The reason for that is it becomes grounds for dismissal later on down the road, if they decide they want to get rid of you. Even rounding up half an hour is looked upon as a lie. I'm in agreeance with the fella that rounds all his numbers down to the nearest 10. Perhaps its wrong, but I've gotten to just rounding down to the nearest one. You wanna know how much time I have? THATS how much time I have. Straight up. But my ideologies in this regard change depending on who I'm giving the rezzy to. Oh, ya. I always, always put my resume on that shiny cloud paper
That's a must!!! Joking, of course.Shankdown
Last edited by shankdown on Wed Dec 14, 2005 4:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
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fingersmac
- Rank 7
- Posts: 606
- Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2005 4:17 pm
Re: Resume tips, again
cyyz wrote:Make up your mind...Sulako wrote:
6. Keep it short, and keep the non-aviation-related stuff out. You may have been a king or a street sweeper, but neither of those jobs is relevant to aviation.
Of course if a job requires additional skills on top of being a pilot, please include them in your resume..
he means that if you're applying to a pilot job that requires working in the office as well as flying, then it would be prudent to include any type of office related experience that you may have.
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Hickory Stick
- Rank 3
- Posts: 164
- Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 6:28 am
- Location: Canada again
When you're this big, they call you Mr..... Retard.. =)Hickory Stick wrote:Hey Fingersmac you calling YYZ a retard? That was a great explenation, mabey you can remind Sulako that you stuck up for him on your risume.
Cheers
But I took it off the Resume when Sully pointed out that he had "king retard" apply already...
Good news is keeping the resume topic front and center should help get a few more pilots with quality resumes.
Bad news is this is a poor copy of FYI's very informative post on the topic in September. Coming from a guy who was unemployed just a few months ago it seems a little condescending. Guess that's what being on the inside looking out does.
Bad news is this is a poor copy of FYI's very informative post on the topic in September. Coming from a guy who was unemployed just a few months ago it seems a little condescending. Guess that's what being on the inside looking out does.
pika said: "Bad news is this is a poor copy of FYI's very informative post on the topic in September. Coming from a guy who was unemployed just a few months ago it seems a little condescending. Guess that's what being on the inside looking out does."
I certainly didn't mean to sound condescending. I just want to help out some people who might not have this information.
For what it's worth, I did have flying jobs before this one. In fact, I have held more than one flying job where I saw piles upon piles of resumes. This isn't stuff that I have just observed over the past few months, this is stuff I have observed over the past 9 years now. Anyway, as I also said, this is just my opinion. Feel free to ignore it.
I am also cutting 'n pasting 2 posts in FYI's previous resume post - both of them have some great points:
-----------------------------------------
From FYI:
Here are some suggestions that may be helpful to you when sending out your resume. This post is a reaction to all the terrible resumes that I have been receiving recently and this might actually help some of you to be seriously considered for employment.
The following hints are applicable to any job application:
Take the time to research the company: Address your cover letter to the chief pilot by name and not simply "Dear Sir".
Spell the chief pilot and the company name properly: In fact, proof read your entire cover letter and resume and use spellcheck to help you out. Typos are one thing when sending an email message but it is evident when someone has no idea how to spell. You should have taken the time when writing your cover letter and resume to correct all spelling errors. If the language you are using is not your first language, get some help before sending out something that is full of errors.
Stick to plain fonts and black ink/lettering. I have received resumes in all the colours of the rainbow and in all fancy lettering and it only makes reading them (and printing them out when needed) more difficult .
Try to stick to a common resume format. Seek help on the internet and find out what a proper format entails.
If, in your cover letter, you need to specify a time to be reached, try to word it in such a way that you are not being rude. I would seriously avoid putting in such a restriction if at all possible. If you are are not home from 0900 to 1700 because you are at work, simply state that the "best" time to be reached would be between such and such a time. To state that you can be reached between 0900 and 1700, seems odd considering you are the one in need of employment not the employer. Some chief pilots for smaller companies will be getting back to you after 1700 because that may be the time they have dedicated to make call backs.
Do not use a standard cover letter and send it off to all different companies in one email especially when each recipient can see all the other company names. Take the time to personalize your cover letter to each and every company individually.
When sending your resume by email, try to use common programs such as Word.
Now when sending out a resume for a pilot position:
Round off your hours to the nearest round number: If you have 100.3 hours PIC, just write 100 hrs. That extra .3 will not be a determining factor.
A graphical breakdown of every logbook column is definitely not necessary and neither is the display of colours. I believe most companies are content to see at most, your total time, multi, turbine and PIC. Include any current PPC's if applicable as well.
If you have a commercial license do you really have to state that you have a valid cat. 1 medical.
For the most part, you do not need to mention every single engine airplane you have flown. "Various single-engine aircraft such as, C150 and C172" will suffice. If you are applying for a single engine position, then include the single that is most applicable to the job.
I can't help but chuckle when I see a resume with a self portrait of a uniformed "pilot" in front of a 150. Do you really need to present a ridiculous picture of yourself?
You are applying for a pilot position, so why must you tell us about past employment that is completely irrelevant to the position. We do not need to know about you having worked as a cashier in a grocery store or about every past waitering or bartending job that you have held. Furthermore, we do not need to know about all the duties you carried out at the aforementioned jobs. I think we can figure out what duties you had as a bartender. Try to keep your past history relevant to being hired as a pilot.
Now I can't speak for all employers but I do not get a good first impression from a candidate that divulges that he/she is willing to pay whatever the cost for a PPC/training, etc. I don't want someone that sounds that desperate working for me. Have some pride and some faith in yourself such that you do not need to try and beat others by offering monetary rewards to the employer.
Most importantly keep your resume short and sweet and easy to read.
A few more words of caution:
Try to send faxes during "regular business hours" especially for the smaller operators. Many times the fax machine is located at the same place people may be sleeping. Take into consideration the time difference and fax accordingly.
If you will be dropping off a resume, try to dress appropriately. Showing up in jean cut-offs and a backwards baseball cap just doesn't give a good impression. Also, try not to just show up at inopportune moments and pester. Try and make a phone call first and find out when would be an opportune moment to meet instead of, for example, just tracking the person down at an FBO during a quick turn around.
Unfortunately, many first impressions are formed by a resume sent by email. These are only suggestions, but I believe these tips could help many of you out and avoid your resume from being sent directly to the deleted folder.
-----------------------------------------------------------
From George Sugar
What someone in my position wants to see is:
1/ Name and contact information - you'd be surprised how many times I get resumes with disconnected phone numbers and/or no e-mail address.
Also, give me the name you go by instead of your formal full name, so that when I call and ask for "Montesquieu" I don't get puzzled dead air on the other end from your room-mate;
2/ Education - Post-secondary is sufficient; if you attended that we can probably leave the primary and high school info for layover chat;
3/ Flying experience - Total time does not include any S/O or cruise relief time (hey, I don't make the rules). Only give me specific time on types that would be of interest, according to the requirements and the types of aircraft we operate, (and the plural of "aircraft" is "aircraft"; insert spell- and grammar-check note here). Breakdowns between 150 and 172 time don't help much. And if that's all you've got then, even though we all have to start somewhere, applying for a 727 job with 200 hours on a 150 indicates something other than what you are trying to convey;
4/ Employment history - It's okay if you don't currently have a job. If anyone has been in the business for more than five minutes, they know such things happen. Give me your work history, all of it, and make the dates accurate; no one is working at Jetsgo "to present". But if you got fired from a job, I'm gonna find out anyway. I understand personal differences, but I don't look favourably on someone trying to keep something from me. If there are obvious gaps in your work history I'm going to ask. And that segues to:
5/ References - "References on request"? What, you going to make me beg? "References on request" sounds likes it's too much trouble for you to include them. If you're not going to tell me, then don't include a "References" section on the resume. I'm going to ask around about you anyway.
All of this should fit on one page. Pilots are selected by hard, non-qualitative criteria. This is why many major airlines have on-line applications that only allow you to submit what they need to be able to compare your experience and qualifications to what they require. The closer a candidate gets to what the airline is looking for, the more successful the resume will be. Remember, someone has to read all this stuff, and that someone is the one you're asking for a job.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I certainly didn't mean to sound condescending. I just want to help out some people who might not have this information.
For what it's worth, I did have flying jobs before this one. In fact, I have held more than one flying job where I saw piles upon piles of resumes. This isn't stuff that I have just observed over the past few months, this is stuff I have observed over the past 9 years now. Anyway, as I also said, this is just my opinion. Feel free to ignore it.
I am also cutting 'n pasting 2 posts in FYI's previous resume post - both of them have some great points:
-----------------------------------------
From FYI:
Here are some suggestions that may be helpful to you when sending out your resume. This post is a reaction to all the terrible resumes that I have been receiving recently and this might actually help some of you to be seriously considered for employment.
The following hints are applicable to any job application:
Take the time to research the company: Address your cover letter to the chief pilot by name and not simply "Dear Sir".
Spell the chief pilot and the company name properly: In fact, proof read your entire cover letter and resume and use spellcheck to help you out. Typos are one thing when sending an email message but it is evident when someone has no idea how to spell. You should have taken the time when writing your cover letter and resume to correct all spelling errors. If the language you are using is not your first language, get some help before sending out something that is full of errors.
Stick to plain fonts and black ink/lettering. I have received resumes in all the colours of the rainbow and in all fancy lettering and it only makes reading them (and printing them out when needed) more difficult .
Try to stick to a common resume format. Seek help on the internet and find out what a proper format entails.
If, in your cover letter, you need to specify a time to be reached, try to word it in such a way that you are not being rude. I would seriously avoid putting in such a restriction if at all possible. If you are are not home from 0900 to 1700 because you are at work, simply state that the "best" time to be reached would be between such and such a time. To state that you can be reached between 0900 and 1700, seems odd considering you are the one in need of employment not the employer. Some chief pilots for smaller companies will be getting back to you after 1700 because that may be the time they have dedicated to make call backs.
Do not use a standard cover letter and send it off to all different companies in one email especially when each recipient can see all the other company names. Take the time to personalize your cover letter to each and every company individually.
When sending your resume by email, try to use common programs such as Word.
Now when sending out a resume for a pilot position:
Round off your hours to the nearest round number: If you have 100.3 hours PIC, just write 100 hrs. That extra .3 will not be a determining factor.
A graphical breakdown of every logbook column is definitely not necessary and neither is the display of colours. I believe most companies are content to see at most, your total time, multi, turbine and PIC. Include any current PPC's if applicable as well.
If you have a commercial license do you really have to state that you have a valid cat. 1 medical.
For the most part, you do not need to mention every single engine airplane you have flown. "Various single-engine aircraft such as, C150 and C172" will suffice. If you are applying for a single engine position, then include the single that is most applicable to the job.
I can't help but chuckle when I see a resume with a self portrait of a uniformed "pilot" in front of a 150. Do you really need to present a ridiculous picture of yourself?
You are applying for a pilot position, so why must you tell us about past employment that is completely irrelevant to the position. We do not need to know about you having worked as a cashier in a grocery store or about every past waitering or bartending job that you have held. Furthermore, we do not need to know about all the duties you carried out at the aforementioned jobs. I think we can figure out what duties you had as a bartender. Try to keep your past history relevant to being hired as a pilot.
Now I can't speak for all employers but I do not get a good first impression from a candidate that divulges that he/she is willing to pay whatever the cost for a PPC/training, etc. I don't want someone that sounds that desperate working for me. Have some pride and some faith in yourself such that you do not need to try and beat others by offering monetary rewards to the employer.
Most importantly keep your resume short and sweet and easy to read.
A few more words of caution:
Try to send faxes during "regular business hours" especially for the smaller operators. Many times the fax machine is located at the same place people may be sleeping. Take into consideration the time difference and fax accordingly.
If you will be dropping off a resume, try to dress appropriately. Showing up in jean cut-offs and a backwards baseball cap just doesn't give a good impression. Also, try not to just show up at inopportune moments and pester. Try and make a phone call first and find out when would be an opportune moment to meet instead of, for example, just tracking the person down at an FBO during a quick turn around.
Unfortunately, many first impressions are formed by a resume sent by email. These are only suggestions, but I believe these tips could help many of you out and avoid your resume from being sent directly to the deleted folder.
-----------------------------------------------------------
From George Sugar
What someone in my position wants to see is:
1/ Name and contact information - you'd be surprised how many times I get resumes with disconnected phone numbers and/or no e-mail address.
Also, give me the name you go by instead of your formal full name, so that when I call and ask for "Montesquieu" I don't get puzzled dead air on the other end from your room-mate;
2/ Education - Post-secondary is sufficient; if you attended that we can probably leave the primary and high school info for layover chat;
3/ Flying experience - Total time does not include any S/O or cruise relief time (hey, I don't make the rules). Only give me specific time on types that would be of interest, according to the requirements and the types of aircraft we operate, (and the plural of "aircraft" is "aircraft"; insert spell- and grammar-check note here). Breakdowns between 150 and 172 time don't help much. And if that's all you've got then, even though we all have to start somewhere, applying for a 727 job with 200 hours on a 150 indicates something other than what you are trying to convey;
4/ Employment history - It's okay if you don't currently have a job. If anyone has been in the business for more than five minutes, they know such things happen. Give me your work history, all of it, and make the dates accurate; no one is working at Jetsgo "to present". But if you got fired from a job, I'm gonna find out anyway. I understand personal differences, but I don't look favourably on someone trying to keep something from me. If there are obvious gaps in your work history I'm going to ask. And that segues to:
5/ References - "References on request"? What, you going to make me beg? "References on request" sounds likes it's too much trouble for you to include them. If you're not going to tell me, then don't include a "References" section on the resume. I'm going to ask around about you anyway.
All of this should fit on one page. Pilots are selected by hard, non-qualitative criteria. This is why many major airlines have on-line applications that only allow you to submit what they need to be able to compare your experience and qualifications to what they require. The closer a candidate gets to what the airline is looking for, the more successful the resume will be. Remember, someone has to read all this stuff, and that someone is the one you're asking for a job.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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fingersmac
- Rank 7
- Posts: 606
- Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2005 4:17 pm
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Hickory Stick
- Rank 3
- Posts: 164
- Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 6:28 am
- Location: Canada again
George Sugar wrote:
5/ References - "References on request"? What, you going to make me beg? "References on request" sounds likes it's too much trouble for you to include them. If you're not going to tell me, then don't include a "References" section on the resume. I'm going to ask around about you anyway.
I dont think this is particularily unfair. It is not a question of asking you to beg, but not having your references bothered except where the employers' interest is going past the interest stage.
I know for example that my parole office does not want to be bothered by every potential employer for a reference check, even if they are his client also.
5/ References - "References on request"? What, you going to make me beg? "References on request" sounds likes it's too much trouble for you to include them. If you're not going to tell me, then don't include a "References" section on the resume. I'm going to ask around about you anyway.
I dont think this is particularily unfair. It is not a question of asking you to beg, but not having your references bothered except where the employers' interest is going past the interest stage.
I know for example that my parole office does not want to be bothered by every potential employer for a reference check, even if they are his client also.
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Justwannafly
- Rank 8
- Posts: 896
- Joined: Sat Dec 10, 2005 12:12 am
- Location: Cyberspace
Luckily for me I have not had to send out resumes in 25 years but as I sit here and type this message I was wondering if sending a cd with your resume to a possible employer would be acceptable. I can't help but wonder what happens to the majority of the resumes that employers recieve after the job is filled, round file I would imagine if for no other reason than the lack of file space to keep them all. A cd is much easier to store.
I wonder what thoughts the Chief Pilots would have about this idea. An accepted word pro like microsoft office or similar would have to be the standard, but other than working out the format does this idea appeal to any of you?
I wonder what thoughts the Chief Pilots would have about this idea. An accepted word pro like microsoft office or similar would have to be the standard, but other than working out the format does this idea appeal to any of you?
If you're going to send it in Electronic format (and as far as I know, MS Word is 100% the way to go for sending a resume), why wouldn't you just e-mail it as an attachment?
The way I see it, the only method that's going to set you apart from the crowd in a positive way is to show up. Smiling, happy, positive, eager...make a good impression as you hand your resume to the "gatekeeper", right?
If you don't do that, you're just one of the faceless mass that mails, e-mails, faxes, sends smoke signals, or uses courier pigeons to send in their resume. Ok, using a courier pigeon would get their attention.
But my point remains. Why go to the trouble of burning a CD-R, packaging it (they don't survive mailing otherwise), and then sending it when an e-mail will have the same effect.
Also keep in mind that a lot of savvy computer users won't put ANYTHING in their CD-Rom drive that isn't from a source that they trust. Viruses and malicious code can enter your computer from many, many places. A Word file attached to an e-mail that says "Here's my resume, please hire me" isn't a high-risk proposition. An unsolicited CD-R could potentially contain code that would execute as soon as it's put into your computer (depending on how your system options are set up). You just don't know until it's in your computer, being read. Once it's in your computer, it's too late.
Of course, that's just my take on the idea. Maybe there's a CP out there that only accepts resumes on CD-R because he wants to make sure that his pilots have at least basic computer skills.
The way I see it, the only method that's going to set you apart from the crowd in a positive way is to show up. Smiling, happy, positive, eager...make a good impression as you hand your resume to the "gatekeeper", right?
If you don't do that, you're just one of the faceless mass that mails, e-mails, faxes, sends smoke signals, or uses courier pigeons to send in their resume. Ok, using a courier pigeon would get their attention.
But my point remains. Why go to the trouble of burning a CD-R, packaging it (they don't survive mailing otherwise), and then sending it when an e-mail will have the same effect.
Also keep in mind that a lot of savvy computer users won't put ANYTHING in their CD-Rom drive that isn't from a source that they trust. Viruses and malicious code can enter your computer from many, many places. A Word file attached to an e-mail that says "Here's my resume, please hire me" isn't a high-risk proposition. An unsolicited CD-R could potentially contain code that would execute as soon as it's put into your computer (depending on how your system options are set up). You just don't know until it's in your computer, being read. Once it's in your computer, it's too late.
Of course, that's just my take on the idea. Maybe there's a CP out there that only accepts resumes on CD-R because he wants to make sure that his pilots have at least basic computer skills.
Please don't tell my mother that I work in the Oilpatch...she still thinks that I'm the piano player at a whorehouse.
